Live from Sicily! We’ve experienced so much during these past two days while in Agrigento Province. A highlight has been seeing the work of the two brotherhoods from San Biagio Platini for their annual Archi di Pane, or the Easter Bread Arches. An Easter Sunday procession that unites Jesus and Mary in the center of…
Category: Art
Purity And Sacrifice: Easter Lambs in Sicily
Happy Easter! Buona Pasqua! The lamb is one of the most prominent symbols of Easter. In Christianity, it symbolizes purity and sacrifice – two qualities associated with Jesus Christ. The basic form of the lamb is created from marzipan (sweet almond paste) using a mold. Then the cook decorates the pastry according to his or…
Orlando Inspired Us: The Opera Dei Pupi in Acireale, Sicily
Live from Sicily! We laughed, shouted, booed, and cried for Orlando during the opera dei pupi (marionette theater) last evening. The magnificent Opera di Pupi Turi Grasso theater company showed us the joys and craftsmanship of their multigenerational master work! We were all so inspired–us and the Grasso family too!
Cry For Me Siracusa
Live from Sicily! We had a glorious weather in Siracusa today. Our clients were full of questions about ancient history as well as modern. One of the more fascinating modern stories about Siracusa is this church, or should I say, this upside down ice cream cone, pictured from this morning! It is the Santuario della…
Galatea’s Grief In Acireale
Live from Sicily! Today we stayed local to the villa we have rented, visiting sites in the town of Acireale and environs. Acireale is shrouded in mythology with the story of Aci and Galatea at the core. I was thrilled to see this magnificent statue depicting their myth in person for the first time! Galatea…
The Light Of The World In Cefalù Cathedral
Santissimo Salvatore della Trasfigurazione (also known as Christ Pantocrator) anchors the apse of the UNESCO recognized cathedral, or duomo, of Cefalù. Boasting a remarkable Byzantine-style mosaic of Christ Pantocrator (pictured), the cathedral was commissioned in 1131 by the visionary Norman King Roger II after his ship found refuge on this spot during a harrowing storm….
I Met Frances Mayes In The Piazza (Sort Of)
What an honor for me to have met Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun this evening during her tour supporting her latest book, See You in the Piazza! And furthermore, to celebrate the episode of Dream of Italy TV Show that the talented and fabulous Kathy McCabe produced with her! Congratulations to these…
Modern Art In Sicily: Il Cretto di Burri
8,000 square meters or 86,111 square feet of concrete mark the place where the town of Gibellina was before the devastating 1968 earthquake that was centered in southwestern Sicily. Artist Alberto Burri spent 30 years to create this sculpture called Grande Cretto or il Cretto, that outlines the streets of the old town where homes,…
Liberty Style Architecture In Palermo
You may be familiar with the term Art Nouveau, a freer architectural style that swept Europe and the Americas at the end of the 19th century into the early 20th century. Well, differently, in Palermo, Art Nouveau is known as “Liberty Style,” and it was championed by architects Giovan Battista, who designed Palermo’s Teatro Massimo…
Sicily’s Patron, Saint Joseph
Viva San Giuseppe! Happy Saint Joseph’s Day! (Altar of Saint Joseph photographed in my grandfather’s home village, Porticello, Sicily.) REGISTER TODAY for our Experience Sicily luncheon Cacio e Vino on Sunday, March 24. Details at: https://experiencesicily.com/saint-josephs-day-in-new-york-city/